Students worked on the metric systems today. The packet is attached below. There will be a quiz tomorrow over the top table on page three. However, to fully understand this table, students should go over all of page 3 and 4.

The test for Chapter 2 will be this Friday, October 4th, 2013. The study guide is attached below.

Up to this point, your student should know the following:

Unit 1: Students will develop and apply scientific skills and tools necessary to design, implement, and communicate experiments, observations, and results in an appropriate way.

Recognize the difference between observation and inference.

Define a problem or testable question.

Identify the variables and control.

Identify the purpose of SI.

Identify the SI units of length, volume, mass, temperature, time, and rate.

Use appropriate tools to measure and organize data, analyze data to form a reasonable conclusion.

Identify and use pictures, tables, and graphs to analyze and interpret information.

Students did their flight trials today. They collected data (length of flight) for two planes, found the average flight length for each plane and created a graph depicting their results.

For homework, students must draw conclusions from their data and make suggestions for any follow up tests. The entire packet (posted previously) is due tomorrow and will be collected after class discussion of results and analysis.

Students were able to go outside today and perfect their launch style plus see how well their planes flew. Some modifications are allowed before tomorrow.

Many students did not like our science lab safety goggles. If they want a pair of their own, the dollar store has them. Regular eye glasses are not enough because they are not rated for impact and chemical exposure. Therefore, students must wear safety glasses over their regular glasses.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will do the measured trials (4 for each plane).

For homework tonight, students need to complete page 2 of their Lab Report Packet. Please encourage them to go over the lab procedure once more as our time is short in class.

Today we worked on finalizing the "perfect" plane design and talked about modifications and uncertainty in measurement. Please remind your student to check this blog every day for updates and additional help plus some fun links that apply to our lessons.

Try one of the plane plans in the links below or design your own!HINTS:Retrieved from http://www.exploratorium.edu: "Once you've made all of your folds and the plane looks symmetrical, it's time to trim it, or adjust it, for flight. Give it a gentle toss forward. Your goal is to have it glide smoothly and gently to the ground, either flying straight or in a gradual curve. Make these adjustments, if necessary:

If the nose drops and the plane dives into the ground, bend up the back of the wings. A little bend goes a long way.

If the nose rises first and then drops, the plane is stalling. Bend down the back of the wing. Keep your adjustments small.

When you get the plane to balance on the air and float down gently, then you can give it faster tosses. Now that you have a flying plane, you can use it to see the roles that paper plays in its construction. After the kinetic energy (that is, the energy you put into it by throwing it) of the initial throw has dissipated, paper planes are gliders powered by gravity. As the plane falls, its wings deflect air backward and down, providing thrust and lift. Paper makes a good wing because it's impermeable to air: In a single sheet of paper, multiple layers of interlocked fibers prevent air from flowing through. In contrast, a hole-filled screen from a back door would not make a very good wing." EXPLORATORIUM MAGAZINE ONLINE

"Measurements always involve a comparison. When you say that a table is 6 feet long, you're really saying that the table is six times longer than an object that is 1 foot long. The foot is a unit; you measure the length of the table by comparing it with an object like a yardstick or a tape measure that is a known number of feet long.

The comparison always involves some uncertainty. If the tape measure has marks every foot, and the table falls between the sixth and seventh marks, you can be certain that the table is longer than six feet and less than seven feet. To get a better idea of how long the table actually is , though, you will have to read between the scale division marks. This is done by estimating the measurement to the nearest one tenth of the space between scale divisions." Retrieved from Frostburg State University Department of ChemistryYou can also check this site for a tutorial on uncertainty in measurements and significant figures.http://antoine.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/senese/tutorials/sigfig/index.cgi